Improved industry workflows include universal connections support for efficient modeling of large assemblies.

Simcenter 3D is an advanced standalone CAE application for analysts and discipline experts that works with data from any CAD source. Being built on the Siemens NX platform, it of course works seamlessly with NX CAD. With more enhancements than any previous release, the newest Simcenter 3D—part of Siemens’s Simcenter portfolio of simulation and test solutions for predictive engineering analytics—looks to revolutionize how simulation engineers can help drive design direction in industries such as automotive, aerospace and industrial machinery. See our Predictive engineering analytics: Simcenter unifies, advances Siemens PLM’s simulation/test portfolio.

The new release integrates significant capabilities that were previously available in legacy simulation tools such as LMS Virtual.Lab and Samtech Samcef. Integration and expansion of these capabilities into Simcenter 3D’s unified, scalable and open environment aims to help engineers, analysts and designers improve their overall productivity, and give their organizations access to a broad yet deep array of simulation technology.

Scale, depth, speed of integration work all impress

The scope, scale, depth and—perhaps above all—swift, determined execution of Siemens’ work to intelligently integrate its many CAE-related acquisitions over the past handful of years is unsurpassed by anything comparable we can recall anywhere else in the industry. The latest Simcenter 3D release, and Siemens’ continued progress in realizing its overall Simcenter vision, is testament to the high caliber of both its technologists and its senior management—few companies in any industry can boast the same number of truly world-class executives and experts shepherding and coordinating the various Siemens PLM Software businesses and product families.

Convergent Modeling is Siemens’ name for the ability to edit faceted bodies as if they were typical, boundary representation (b-rep) bodies in CAD. Simcenter 3D now exposes Convergent Modeling within the CAE environment, helping analysts and engineers “bring legacy FE mesh data to life,” the company says. This lets mesh data be turned into a convergent body, which can then be edited and morphed into new geometry, remeshed, then re-analyzed faster.

Working seamlessly with NX CAD and Convergent Modeling technology, Simcenter 3D now offers generative design solutions for designers and advanced analysts. For the first time, output from a topology optimization process can be utilized directly in the design process, without the need to recreate geometry. Furthermore, engineers can now work directly with scanned data or an optimized shape to conduct more detailed simulations to ensure performance. By using Simcenter 3D along with HEEDS software for design exploration automation, engineers are able to fully explore the design space and generate innovative designs that meet more stringent design requirements.

Simcenter 3D now provides expanded support for general-purpose nonlinear solutions based on the NX Nastran multi-step nonlinear solver as well as advanced analysis of composites based on LMS Samtech Samcef software. This latest release also delivers several enhancements to improve industry workflows across a wide range of industries, for modeling connections in large assemblies as well as accurate simulation of flexible pipes and hoses.

Nonlinear simulation in Simcenter 3D is greatly expanded by leveraging enhancements in NX Nastran and integrating capabilities from the LMS Samcef solver. In addition to the already strong capabilities for simulating nonlinear thermo-mechanical behavior in turbomachinery, Simcenter 3D now offers expanded support for general purpose nonlinear simulation with more elements, greater robustness and algorithms for multi-step nonlinear simulation to provide enhanced realism and faster solution times. Additionally, support for curing simulation of composites now allows prediction of residual stresses and spring-back effects.

Several of the enhancements target industry-specific workflows. Simulation engineers in automotive, aerospace, and heavy machinery companies benefit from the integration of universal connections support, which can help to efficiently build large system models with many connections and solve across several solvers. Simcenter 3D also leverages the LMS Samcef solver for simulation of flexible pipes and hoses which are commonly used in a variety of industries.

New with this release, hybrid modeling allows analysts to incorporate test-based data into their simulation models to achieve better accuracy within the simulation. Other enhancements include support for modeling sub-mechanisms within motion assemblies, faster computation time for analytical contact in motion models, and improved performance for interior and exterior acoustics simulation.

Leuridan: “More streamlined workflows and a broader set of simulations in support of performance engineering”

“Our Simcenter solutions deliver critical capabilities that help our customers engineer innovation into their products,” said Dr. Jan Leuridan, Siemens PLM Software senior vice president for Simulation and Test Solutions. “With our latest release of Simcenter 3D, we are able to integrate multiple technologies from different tools all under one platform. Capitalizing on our deep experience in geometry-based CAE as well as our strength in key disciplines such as structural dynamics, acoustics, motion and nonlinear analysis, we have enhanced Simcenter 3D to enable more streamlined workflows and a broader set of simulations in support of performance engineering.”